Infant&#39;s knee pad



June 157 s. H. KAY 2,794,982

- INFANTS KNEE PAD Filed Oct. 11, 1954 INVENTOR.

SARA H PP5 KAY A T'TORNE Y United. SratesPatent 2,794,982 INFANTS KNEE PAD Sara HippsKay, Greenville, S. C.

Application October'll, 1954, Serial No. 461,326 1 Claim- (Cl. I -24) This invention relates to infants-accessories and more especially to a knee pad or guard particularly adapted to cover the knees of an infant-when crawling.

When children are-in thecrawlings'tages it is a major problem to keep them clean, particularly their knees. The frequentwashing ofthechilds knees and the articles of clothing covering the knees, such as creepers, is quite a chore for the busy mother. Children at this stage of development are not careful where they crawl and there are constant dangers from splinters and any other sharp objects which may be encountered. Also, the child has a tendency to squirm out of any article of clothing that tends to confine his body or limbs. It is necessary that a knee pad for such a child be inexpensively constructed of washable material because of the hard wear which will be accorded the knee pad and that it be soft and flexible yet adequately padded to protect the tender skin of a babys knees and be so secured that the infant cannot readily remove the article. A number of attempts have been made to satisfy the above requirements but have resulted in the development of crude devices, usually employing elastic, for the purpose of holding the pad to the childs leg.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a knee pad which may be easily constructed of textile material and readily secured to the leg of a crawling infant either directly on the knee or over creepers or overalls which will fit snugly against the knee and will offer adequate protection therefor.

Another object of this invention is to produce an inexpensive knee pad for an infant which may be constructed from scraps from other textile operations by comparatively unskilled labor and which will conform to the shape of an infants knee when in crawling position making it peculiarly suited to this purpose, without the use of elastic.

I accomplish these and other objects of my invention by providing a knee pad for a crawling infant consisting essentially of a substantially elliptically shaped portion constructed of at least two thicknesses of textile material, padding stitched into place between said thicknesses to form a thick protective portion, gathers at the upper portion of the elliptically shaped portion forming a concave surface conforming to the knee portion of an infants leg when bent as is normally the case when crawling, a first seam binder following the contours of the upper portion of said elliptically shaped portion and projecting laterally therefrom to form straps, a second seam binder following the contour of the lower elliptically shaped portion and extending laterally to intersect and be joined to said straps and intermediate seam binder portions between said first and second seam binders thus defining an opening on either side of the elliptical portion of equivalent triangular configuration whereby, when the straps are fastened behind the infants knee, the upper, lower and intermediate portions defined by said seam binders will be pulled snugly about the infants knees.

2,794,982 Patented June 11, 1957 ice While some of the objects have been stated above others will become apparent to those skilled in the art relating to childrens accessories when the specification is rea d in connection with the accompanying drawing in which;

Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing my improved knee pad attached to the knee of a crawling-infant, I A

Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevation of the knee pad and, I

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 in Fig. 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, thenumeral 10 broadly designates a substantially elliptically shaped portion adapted to cover the knee portion of the leg of the crawling infant. Fig. 3 shows that the ellipticalbody or knee pad portion 10 is constructed of at least two thicknesses of fabric, the outside portion being designated at 12 and the inside portion at 14. Suitable padding 16, shown in the drawing as being constructed of cotton ,batting,-isprovided and is shown suitably secured in place as by stitches 18, which-provide a quilted efiect. If-de sired this paddingcould be constructed of any suitable material such as several thicknesses of cloth.

A concave portion broadly designated at 20 in Fig. 3 is formed in the elliptical body portion 10 to conform to the shape of an infants knee when in the position normally adapted to crawling. It will be noted that a number of gathers 22 are taken along the upper edge portion of the body portion 10 and hence the amount of curvature of the concave portion 20 is especially pronounced in the upper part of the body portion 10 as will be particularly noted in Figs. 1 and 3 so as to particularly conform the body portion to the shape of the knee. If desired pleats or some other suitable means may be employed for this purpose.

A seam binder 26 is shown following the contour of the upper edge of the elliptical portion 10 and suitably secured thereto as by stitches 28. These stitches 28 also secure the gathers 22 which are confined by the seam binder 26. It will be noted that the seam binder 26 follows the contour of the upper edge only on the upper portion of the elliptical body portion 10 and projects laterally and downwardly at an angle of about 30 with the horizontal when laid out fiat.

A second seam binder 30 is shown secured to the lower edge of the body portion 10 as by stitches 32 and follows the contour of the lower portion and projects laterally as at 30a to intersect with the first mentioned seam binder '26 as at 34. The seam binder 30 is secured to the seam binder 26 as by the stitching 28 which also secures the seam binder 26 together to form straps 26a. Intermediate seam binders 36 are suitably secured to the side edges of the intermediate portion of the body portion 10 as by stitches 38 in order to cooperate with the first sea-n1 binder 26 and the second seam binder 30 to confine the padding 16 and to protect the edges of the body portion 10. These intermediate seam binders 36 together with the seam binders 26 and 30 define an opening on either side of the elliptical body portion 10 of substantially triangular configuration.

Fig. 1 shows the entire knee pad assembly positioned on the knee portion of the leg 40 of an infant. It will be noted that the calf and thigh portions of the leg 40 form a substantially right angle. It will also be noted that the strap may be secured in any convenient manner as by the bow 26b. If desired buckles or any suitable fastening means may be employed as found to be most expedient.

-It will also be noted that the body portion 10 is constructed of any suitable material preferably textile so that it will slide easily on the floor or play pen. Gathers may be easily formed at the top and stitched into place at the same time that the seam binder is positioned thereon.

By forming these'gathers in the top a concave portion is produced in the body portion of the knee pad which will conform almost exactly to the shape of an infants knee in crawling position. i The upper seam binder being extended to form straps, as described and shown; pulls the upper portion snugly around the infanti's leg and at the same time the bottomand intermediate portions are also pulled snugly around the leg by-virtue of the'particular placement of the seamlowergbiuder as described so as to extend beyond the body portion before intersecting the upper seam binder. 'Ifdesired the body portion could be constructed of a thick material which would offer adequate protection and the gathers placed 'inthe upper portion thereofp s While a preferred embodiment of my invention has been described using spe'cific terms; such description is for illustrative'purposes only, and it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

A knee pad for a crawling infant comprising a substantially elliptically shaped portion constructed of at leasttwo thicknesses of washable textile material, padding stitched into place between said thicknesses, a plurality of gathers at the upper portion of the elliptically shaped portion forming a concave portion adapted to conform to the knee portion of an infants leg when bent as is normally the case when crawling, a seam binder following the contour of the upper portion of said elliptically shaped portion and projecting laterally to form straps, a second seam binder following the contour of the lower portion and extending laterally to intersect and be joined to said straps and intermediate seam binder portions between said References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,637,116 Kelley July 26, 1927 1,654,452 Bradley Dec. 27, 1927 2,573,537 Boufliard Oct. 30, 1951 2,626,394- Davis Jan. 27, 1953 

